Dallas Cowboys: Studs and duds from Week 1 clunker vs. Rams

Studs and duds from the Dallas Cowboys’ ugly Week 1 loss to the Rams.

This season was supposed to be different, but after one week, this looks like the same Dallas Cowboys team we have seen year after year. They came out flat, gave up a quick touchdown, and then started to get things rolling in the second quarter.

They even headed into the half with a 14-13 lead, which was surprising given how they were thoroughly outplayed by the Los Angeles Rams for the first 30 minutes. Then in the second half, it was more of the same as they flippantly went through stalled drive after stalled drive and in the end, dropped a three-point game on the road.

The season is a marathon though, not a sprint, so Dallas is far from done. Having said that, they were less than impressive in this one and they have a lot to correct before facing the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.

With all that being said, we look back over this game with our Week 1 studs and duds from their unorganized loss to kick off the season.

Honorable Mention Stud: Chidobe Awuzie

All offseason we heard about how bad the secondary was going to be in Dallas and in their opening game of the season, they were. As a unit, they couldn’t come up with stops when it was necessary and Jared Goff threw for 275 yards, making it look easy.

Having said that, there were a couple of big moments including the interception from Chidobe Awuzie. It was a nice moment for him after all the criticism he faced in the offseason and it could have helped the Cowboys had they been able to capitalize. They did score three, but with the position he gifted them, a touchdown would have gone much farther.

Honorable Mention Dud: The Offensive Line

With La’el Collins out, the Cowboys went with rookie Terence Steele. He did fine for the most part but on the final drive, he gave up a couple of pressures that seriously hurt the team. They also struggled to hold off Aaron Donald and Dak Prescott never seemed comfortable in the pocket.